This archive report was first published on 1 December 2019.
On December 1, 2019, a crowd in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo lynched two people suspected of being members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a shadowy armed group linked to Ugandan Islamists.
The killings occurred in the town of Beni, where anti-UN protests have erupted since the militia attacks. The United Nations peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, visited the region on the same day to address the situation.
According to an AFP journalist, the crowd accused the two people of being ADF members due to the presence of ammunition and military garb in their bags. However, the army later revealed that the two were actually an army sergeant and his wife, who were heading to their duty station in Ituri province.
The visit by Lacroix came several days after a mob stormed a UN base in Beni in protest over a perceived failure of peacekeepers to stop militia violence. The European Union has condemned the 'cowardly attacks' by armed groups and called for perpetrators to be brought to justice.
At least seven people have been killed in clashes during the anti-UN protests this week. The east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been troubled for years by militia violence, with the ADF blamed for most recent attacks.
